On Monday, May 4, members of the American Osler Society who were in town for their annual meeting visited the Trinity College Archives to learn more about the connection between Trinity College and Sir William Osler, as well as the fascinating history of Trinity Medical College.
The American Osler Society is an organization dedicated to the history of medicine and the enduring legacy of Sir William Osler. Widely regarded as one of the “Fathers of Modern Medicine,” Osler was a pioneering physician and educator, and one of the founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler was also deeply interested in the history of medicine. He founded the History of Medicine Society, played a key role in establishing several medical library associations, and assembled an extraordinary collection of rare books and manuscripts on the history of medicine. His personal library was given to McGill University, and formed the basis of the Osler Library, now one of the most important history of medicine libraries in North America.
Long before his career in medicine, William Osler’s story intersected with Trinity College. In 1867, he enrolled at Trinity as a Divinity student, intending to follow his father into the Anglican priesthood. During his time at Trinity, however, Osler’s interests began to shift toward medicine. This change was shaped in large part by the influence of two important figures in his life: Dr. James Bovell and the Reverend William Arthur Johnson. Bovell was both a physician and a clergyman and had previously served as Dean of the Medical Faculty of Trinity College that existed from 1850 to 1856 (the Trinity Medical College would eventually re-emerge in 1871 and carried on until Trinity’s amalgamation with the University of Toronto in 1904). Johnson, a clergyman educated at the Diocesan Theological Institute in Cobourg, was also a passionate naturalist and amateur biologist. Together, these mentors helped spark Osler’s fascination with science, the natural world, and medicine. In 1868, Osler enrolled in the Toronto School of Medicine.
Sir William Osler’s signature in the Trinity College Matriculation Register.
On Monday, May 4, members of the American Osler Society who were in town for their annual meeting visited the Trinity College Archives to explore this formative period in Osler’s life and the broader history of Trinity Medical College. Society members were treated to a curated selection of materials from the Archives’ collections.
Members of the American Osler Society perusing the archival materials.
Highlights included the Trinity College Matriculation Register, opened to Osler’s signature, as well as correspondence from the Osler Family Collection that shed light on his early life and family. Visitors also explored materials from the Trinity College Medical College Collection, including calendars, admission cards, photographs, and student ephemera, along with images of Dr. James Bovell and the Reverend William Arthur Johnson.
Items from the Trinity Medical College Collection on display.
Additional items on display included Bachelor of Medicine certificates and graduate registers signed by Bovell, late nineteenth‑century lecture and prescription notebooks, a Toronto General Hospital certificate from 1896, and a pocket Clinical Guide to Medicine annotated by a Trinity medical student.
A late 19th century prescription pad offers a remedy for neuralgia.
Together, these materials offered a vivid glimpse into medical education and student life in Osler’s era. The Archives was grateful for the opportunity to welcome the American Osler Society and hopes that the visit shed new light on Osler’s formative years and his enduring connection to the College.